


Meet the Family

by Jestana, umbralillium



Series: Jedi Besties and Side Stories [7]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-18 01:23:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5892700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jestana/pseuds/Jestana, https://archiveofourown.org/users/umbralillium/pseuds/umbralillium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time to reconnect with his sister. What better way to reconnect than to introduce him to everyone else that's important to her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vort and Mei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vort and Mei first, since Te'rund is still stuck in the Empire.

Once off the shuttle from Nar Shaddaa to the Republic Fleet, Vort took a moment to breathe deeply of the air. He knew all space stations and ships used the same process to recycle air, but it somehow smelled sweeter than the air on the Imperial Fleet. _Probably because I'm a Republic citizen, not an Imperial one._ Shaking that thought away, he headed to the lift, ready to finally resume his life in the Republic.

As he wandered around, he was struck by the noise. On the Imperial Fleet, any groups of friends gathered in silence or kept their voices low. Here, they gathered and talked freely, accompanied by a great deal of laughter. If any of them were Jedi, they chose not to wear their robes, though he doubted any were without their lightsabers. Honed instincts told him he was being watched. Whenever he caught someone looking at him, they smiled, nodded, and returned their attention to their conversation. On the Imperial Fleet, everyone quickly averted their gaze if they were caught looking, especially at a Sith.

Shaking his head, he continued his explorations. Once he'd made a circuit of the main level, he took a lift up to the next one. This time, his attention was caught by a sign over a shop: _Momentous Markings. That's where Mei got her tats._ Deciding to check it out, he headed in. He stopped short just inside the doors. "Well, this is quite the coincidence."

"Vort!" Mei hurried over and flung her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug.

"Hi, Mei." He returned her hug with a fond smile.

"Hi, Vort," Alte greeted with a smile. "How are you liking the fleet so far?"

He chuckled, hugging her as well. "Very different from what I was used to, but I like it very much."

"Glad to hear it," Naulia volunteered from behind the counter. "There's a reason Jina and I like it here."

Mei grinned. "Everyone, this is my big brother, Vort'ell. Vort, these are some of our friends: Kira Carsen, Felix Iresso, Nadia Grell, Naulia, and Jinalee."

"Big is right," Jina purred with a glance up and down Vort's tall, broad frame.

Vort stifled a sigh. His size was usually the first thing women noticed about him. "Nice to meet you, Jinalee."

"I can see that good looks runs in your family," Naulia commented, looking him over as well.

Kira stepped forward to shake his hand. "Mei's told me a lot about you, Vort'ell. It's taken both me and Zu to keep her safe."

"Thank you for that, Kira." He squeezed her hand firmly. "Thank you for taking care of my baby sister when I couldn't."

Mei made an outraged noise. "Two years!"

Nadia giggled and waved. "Nice to meet you, Vort'ell."

Felix offered his hand with a smile. "Welcome back to the Republic."

Vort'ell returned Nadia's wave, remembering her from Voss. He shook Felix's hand with a small smile. "Nice to meet you, too, Nadia, and thank you, Felix."

Mei lightly punched Vort's arm. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming here?"

"I didn't know when I'd finally be allowed to go anywhere and I was so eager to _go_ that I didn't think to send you a message." Vort rubbed his arm with a fake wince. She'd have to hit him _much_ harder to hurt him.

"But you're free now?" Alte asked, tugging on her ear absently, wondering how the process might differ if Te'ru ever felt safe enough defect.

Vort nodded. "I have to check in periodically, but I can go anywhere I like in the Republic."

"That's good," Alte said quietly.

"Were you coming here for something in particular or did you just want to browse?" Jina asked.

"Just browse," he replied with a shrug. "Mei and Zu told me this is where they got their tattoos and piercings, so I thought I'd check it out."

Naulia nodded and gestured at the various holodisplays. "Take a look at these examples of our work. I just finished Mei's back piece and a new one for Kira."

"Nadia just got her lobes pierced and Alte got a deep snug on her left ear," Jina said, gesturing to Nadia and Alte in turn.

Alte moved aside her hair to show her rather unique piercing.

Vort leaned down to study Alte's new piercing, a little surprised when he realized that one end of the piercing was on the inside of her ear while the other end was on the outside. He unconsciously reached up to touch his own ear. "That looks like it was painful."

Nodding slightly, Alte replied, "It was. Cartilage piercings always are, but it was worth it." She bit her lip for a moment before continuing, "It's for one of my mentors, Master Syo. I had to fight him on Corellia because he was the First Son, the first Child of the Emperor." She rubbed her forehead, struggling to explain. "The Emperor basically created another personality and used that personality, the First Son, to control his mind and actions. I managed to free him, but the experience has left its mark on him, and me."

Vort nodded, reaching out to squeeze her arm. "I understand. Did you manage to save him?"

"Yes," Alte replied, managing a smile. "We did."

Vort nodded again. "All worth it, then."

Kira watched Vort and Alte with some surprise. She'd expected Mei's brother to be like Mei: playful and outgoing, but he was quieter, more reserved. Not as much with Mei and Alte, though, so Kira suspected it had to do with spending so much time as an Intelligence agent.

Mei squeezed Alte's hand, pleased that Vort understood without needing it explained in full detail. "So, did you have any ideas for piercings or tattoos?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I'd like a tattoo that represents _you_ , Mei."

"Me?" She looked at him in surprise. "Why?"

Aware of the others, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "So I can keep you close to my heart even when we're apart."

"You big softie," she whispered back, hugging him tight.

Nadia smiled slightly as she watched Mei interact with Vort and vice versa. She'd only seen Mei give that kind of easy affection to Kira and Alte, and even with them, Nadia was pretty sure she'd never seen Mei punch them lightly on the arm in admonishment.

"You wanna join us for drinks later, Vort'ell?" Felix asked. "It's a bit of a tradition for Zu and Mei's crews to meet up with Naulia and Jina for drinks after they get work done. Well, the ones that drink, anyway."

Straightening up, Vort nodded, and then hesitated. "How many people are we talking about?"

"Besides us, there's Doc and Tharan," Kira volunteered. "Rusk is a Chagrian, so he doesn't care for drinking. Scourge is off doing his own thing. Qyzen and Zenith aren't much for socializing."

"Wait, Scourge?" Vort repeated in surprise, looking at Mei. "As in _Lord_ Scourge, the former Emperor's Wrath?"

Raising her eyebrows, Mei nodded. "Yes. You know him?"

"I know _of_ him, and that he disappeared a while back." He tapped his lower lip thoughtfully. "I think it was about a year or so ago."

Mei touched her chest through her tank top, the upper left, where he could see parts of a lightning scar poking out around the edges. "I'll explain in more detail later."

"You better." He narrowed his eyes at her, mock-severe. Naulia waved Vort over and he eased through the crowd. "Yes, Miss Naulia?"

She snorted. "Naulia's fine. What do you think of these?"

Vort looked at the flimsy she turned towards him and he blinked in surprise. What he'd taken to be idle doodling on her part had been sketching of tattoo ideas. All of them incorporated Mei's initials somehow, with decorations around them that presumably represented _her_. The one that kept drawing his eye included a lit lightsaber behind the two initials. From the details on the handle and the extra 'bloom' at the bottom of the blade, he guessed that Naulia had seen Mei with her lightsaber out at some point. Nodding, he tapped that one. "I like this one best."

"Figures you'd pick the first one I thought of," Naulia grinned at him.

He chuckled and stretched his right arm across the counter and tapped the inside of his wrist. "Here."

Naulia raised her eyebrows at him. "That spot is particularly sensitive to pain. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." He nodded, lightly tracing the pulse point.

Naulia pulled out another flimsy and drew the tattoo again, larger and with more detail. "We can easily do this in one session, though you'll have to be careful not to use your wrist and put a special kolto salve on it twice a day until it's healed."

Jina wandered over and peeked over Naulia's shoulder. "Ooh. That's going to be gorgeous when it's finished."

Mei tried to peek, but Vort held her back. She pouted at him. "I wanna see."

"Not until after it's done and healed," he told her firmly.

She opened her mouth to object, glanced her left arm, and then nodded. "Fine. I'll be waiting impatiently."

"You don't know how to wait _patiently_ , Mei," Kira volunteered with a laugh.

Alte laughed. "Did I tell you what time she woke me up on her birthday last year?" she asked Kira.

"No, but I can guess that it was _far_ too early to be up." Kira grinned mischievously as Mei groaned and buried her face in her hands.

" _Way_ too early," Alte agreed with a fond smile. "I think we'd only been asleep for an hour. Or, at least, _I'd_ been asleep."

Vort smiled and wrapped an arm around Mei's shoulders. "She was just as bad when we were little. She always loved her birthday."

"Because it was _my_ day," Mei explained, dropping her hands. "A day all for me." She grinned at Kira. "Now I share it, but I don't mind."

"I sure hope you don't, because we don't have much of a choice about sharing," Kira retorted with a smile.

"It made remembering your birthdays easier," Nadia quipped, grinning widely at Mei and Kira.

Vort laughed, nodding in Nadia's direction. "I'm sure it does."

"And we just plan a party for the two of us." Kira grinned at Mei.

Alte smiled fondly at Mei and Kira. "I need to get going if I'm going to make my appointment at the braid salon."

Mei hesitated, torn between going with Alte and spending time with Vort.

Smiling, Vort nudged Mei with his hip. "Go with her if you want, Mei. I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

Mei bit her lip, and then shook her head. "No, I'll stay with you, Vort. I've missed you so much."

"It'll be boring for her, anyway," Alte replied with a shake of her head. "It's going to take them a while to do all the braids, even with the specially-designed droids." She hugged Nadia, Kira, and Mei, pressing a kiss to Mei's cheek quickly before heading out the door with a wave. "Bye!"

"Bye, Zu!" Jina called after her.

Mei and Kira returned Alte's hugs. Naulia waved absently, her focus on the tattoo for Vort. He glanced at Nadia curiously. "Is that a tattoo on your face, Miss Nadia?"

Nadia shook her head, smiling. "No, it's facepaint. It's part of my planet's culture; the designs on our faces were originally used to frighten the predators in the dense forests of Sarkhai. Now we do them to honor our history."

"Do you paint the same design every time?" Vort tilted his head curiously. Looking closer, he could see the signs that it was, indeed, facepaint.

"Yes. At least, now I do," Nadia replied, pleased by his interest in her culture. "Every facepaint design has a special meaning. When we're children, it's not uncommon for us to change the design every day, or even sometimes more often than that. Once we reach our majority and have figured out who we truly are, we tend to settle on one design that truly represents us."

Vort nodded, smiling. "I see. I'd love to hear more about you and your culture."

"I'm ready to do the tattoo for you, Vort'ell," Naulia told him before Nadia could reply. "We can do it out here." She gestured to the chair nearby.

"Out here is fine." He walked over and settled into the chair, which creaked a little under his weight. "Um."

Naulia laughed and patted his arm soothingly. "That chair's designed to take more weight, it's just been awhile since anyone as big as you has sat in it."

"Right." He nodded and stretched out his arm at her indication.

Mei propped her arms on a nearby counter. "So, where's Liyo?"

"No clue." Vort shrugged his left shoulder, keeping his arm still as Naulia cleaned the area to be tattooed. "She finished her debrief well before I did and took off."

Kira leaned against the counter next to Mei. "That sounds like Liyo, all right."

"Liyo?" Felix asked, glancing between Mei, Kira, and Vort.

"Kaliyo Djannis," Vort clarified, amused. "A Rattataki mercenary who hooked up with me a few years ago. Apparently, she knew Mei, Zu, and Kira when they were still kids on Nar Shaddaa."

"She was with Vort on Voss when we ran into him," Mei added.

"Ah," Felix said, nodding. "She was the one that helped Zu, wasn't she?"

Kira nodded, reaching over to squeeze Felix's hand. "Yes, she was the one."

"I helped her get that shuttle," Vort admitted quietly. "You obviously put it to good use."

"Yes, we did," Felix replied quietly. "Got us close enough to help Mei and her crew escape the Emperor's Fortress."

Vort nodded, smiling at Mei. "Good. You know, Kaliyo didn't even realize we were related until I showed her a holo of you?"

"To be fair, it'd been over ten years since she last saw me," Mei pointed out, a pleased smile on her face.

"How did you meet her?" Nadia asked, her irrepressible curiosity shining through.

Vort glanced at Mei. "I probably should have asked this before now, but how much did you tell everyone about me?"

"I trust everyone in this shop," Mei told him with a sheepish smile. "They all know the full truth. Anyone besides them and the rest of our crews are told the 'party line'."

He snorted. "Deep undercover in Imperial Intelligence for the SIS, right." Sighing, he looked at Nadia. "My first solo field mission was on Hutta, recruiting one of the Hutts to ally with the Empire." Vort made a face. "That's one planet you do _not_ want to visit, trust me. Anyway, Kaliyo was working as an enforcer for the Hutt in question. She figured out I wasn't the Red Blade like I claimed to be and wanted in on my 'scheme'. Keeper, the head of Operations, decided she could be an asset and recruited her to work with me on my future missions. That was-- wow, over three years ago now."

Kira raised her eyebrows, surprised. "From what I remember of Liyo, she's not the sort to stick with a partner that long."

Nadia turned to Mei and Kira. "What about you guys? How did you meet her?"

"Alte met her first." Mei scowled at the memory. "Some thugs were bothering her while she was busking outside a cantina and Liyo ran them off. They became friends, and then Alte introduced her to me and Kira. Liyo didn't stay on Nar Shaddaa for long, but she left us her holofrequency, in case we ever needed her help."

"And they did because you went and got yourselves captured," Vort mock glared at Mei and Kira.

Kira snorted. "It wasn't exactly our choice, Vort. I'd had enough Imp hospitality to last me a lifetime long before that."

Felix gently squeezed Kira's hand that he was still holding. "All of us have," he said quietly.

Mei nodded firmly. "Agreed."

Naulia looked up as she wiped Vort's tattoo. "Perhaps it's time we discussed something less depressing. I forgot to mention last time you were in that I've seen my brother, Novlan."

"I didn't know you had a brother," Nadia said, smiling brightly.

"Baby brother," Naulia replied with a bright smile. "Mirialan all have some degree of Force sensitivity, but Novlan has a great deal more than me, so he left to train on Dantooine. He has a master now, who apparently ran into Mei and complimented her on her tattoos."

Mei started, surprised, and then narrowed her eyes. "I think I remember him. Auburn hair, green eyes? Tall and slim?"

Naulia nodded, her focus on her work. "Yep. Master Yura. He apparently wants to meet Zu, but missed her when he talked to you."

"If he'd stuck around another moment or two, he would have," Mei agreed, nodding. "I wonder why he wants to meet her."

"He mentioned Yuon," Jina said with a shrug. "Didn't Novlan mention something about Master Syo later, Naulia?"

Naulia nodded, sitting up and stretching. "Yeah, he mentioned that Master Syo was Master Yura's master when _he_ was a Padawan."

"Oh." Mei bit her lip, glancing at Kira. "He might've--"

Kira shook her head. "We don't know who Master Kaedan meant when he said it."

"Someone was upset on their end. Who else but Master's Syo's Padawan?" Mei retorted.

"What?" Nadia said, confused then her eyes widened. "Oh. The holocall on Corellia when we found out..."

"About Master Syo and the First Son," Felix continued quietly when Nadia trailed off.

"If Yura was Master Syo's Padawan, I wonder if Tharan knew him," Mei mused.

"We don't know _when_ Master Yura was Master Syo's Padawan," Kira reminded her.

Naulia shrugged, wiping Vort's wrist one last time. "Neither of them indicated _when_ to us." Setting her tools down, she reached for the kolto salve she kept on hand and smeared some across his wrist before wrapping it in a bandage. "Put salve on that twice a day while it heals." She winked at Mei. "Or Zu can heal it for you with the Force."

"He seemed about Tharan's age, actually," Jina commented thoughtfully. She shrugged. "But, like you said, you don't know when he was a Padawan. Besides, Tharan'll be joining us for drinks, you can ask him then."

"You bet we will." Kira grinned, wondering what Tharan would have to say about this Master Yura.

Mei tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You know, the way he moved reminded me of Master Duras, but his eyes… They were the same color as Master Yuon's."

"Didn't Master Duras have a daughter?" Nadia asked, frowning thoughtfully, thinking back on all the reading she'd done on Alte.

"Laranna Fain, yes." Mei nodded. "She's definitely _his_ daughter."

"I thought Jedi weren't supposed to form attachments?" Vort stood up from the chair and stretched, straining the fabric of his shirt in the process.

Mei gave him a flat look and lightly punched his stomach. "Idiot. If I didn't love you so much..."

He pulled her into a hug. "I've missed you, Mei."

"Missed you, too, you big lug." Mei returned the hug happily.

*

Standing next to Alte had always made Nadia feel short. Sitting next to _Vort_ made her feel dwarfed. Not only was he tall, he was broad. She felt like she could probably hide behind him with little trouble.

Alte arriving at their group of tables and the ensuing greetings distracted her from her thoughts. "Oh my stars! Your hair looks gorgeous!" Nadia exclaimed, smiling.

Grinning, Alte turned, her new waist-length braids swaying with her movements. "You like?"

Mei studied Alte with a grin. "I love it. There's a lot of styles you can do with those braids." She reached out and fingered one of the braids. "Purple, hmm? I wonder why you chose _that_ color."

Alte laughed. "It had nothing to do with it being our favorite color. Not at all."

"Right, of course it didn't." Mei chuckled and hugged Alte before guiding her to the chair on the other side of Mei from Vort.

"They look very nice, Zu," Vort told her quietly and sincerely. "Can you send me the information on the salon that did them?"

"Thank you!" Alte said, smiling. "And sure, I'd be happy to. Vort, Jina, Naulia, this is another one of my crewmembers, Zenith. Zenith, this is Mei's brother, Vort'ell, and Jinalee and Naulia, they run the piercing and tattoo studio we go to."

"Hi," Zenith said as he settled in the chair next to Nadia, which also happened to be the one in the corner.

"You're the one Zu picked up on Balmorra, right? The Resistance fighter?" Jina asked, blue eyes alight with curiosity.

"Yes," Zenith answered.

Vort almost stiffened, but caught himself in time. Casually, he asked, "How long were you a member of the Resistance?"

Mei felt the spike in her brother's emotions and rested her hand on his arm comfortingly. "I've been meaning to ask that myself, actually."

"Since I was big enough to hold a rifle," Zenith answered, red eyes narrowed a little. "Occupation never should have happened."

Doc nudged Zenith's shoulder with his. "But it did and Zu's the reason it's over."

"I was pleased when I heard that Balmorra had been freed," Vort told them, fidgeting with his glass. He glanced at Alte, "I didn't know _you'd_ had a part in it."

Alte couldn't help frowning. Death was part of being a Jedi, but she wasn't terribly fond of talking about the people she'd killed. "Mei, Doc, Zenith, and I killed Darth Lachris," she said quietly. "Zenith and I ensured that Tai Cordan became president of Balmorra."

Vort choked on the sip he'd just taken, caught by surprise. After a round of coughing to clear his throat, he asked hoarsely, "Darth Lachris?"

Mei nodded, ready to pound on his back if he needed help. "Yes, her. I take it you've met her?"

"Um, yes." He ducked his head, trying to hide his blush over his fling with Lachris. He'd still been unsettled by Chemish's casual execution of Sanju and, well, he didn't really have an excuse.

"Wish I could've killed her more than once," Zenith grumbled.

"What's done is done," Alte said firmly. She turned to Vort. "Did Naulia or Jina manage to talk you into one of their chairs?"

Laughing softly, Vort flourished his right arm, which was still bandaged. "Naulia did. Just something small for now. I'm considering ideas for piercings and other tattoos."

"You just let us know, Vort," Naulia told him with a grin and a wink. "I think a back piece would suit you quite well, for the record."

Vort rolled his eyes and laughed again. "I'm thinking about it."

"I'd be happy to make those ears a little less.. empty for you," Jina offered with an innocent smile.

"I like his ears," Nadia said without thinking then blushed to the tips of her _own_ ears, scowling at her glass of Alderaanian sherry.

Vort glanced at Nadia with an amused smile, lightly resting his hand on her arm. "I'm flattered, Nadia." He looked at Jina with amusement glinting in his eyes. "I'm considering options, Jina, don't worry."

Mei hid a smile behind a sip of her drink. _It's not like Nadia to be shy. She'd have asked more than a few questions by now._

In an effort to cover her embarrassment, Nadia asked, "You mentioned Hutta earlier. Where else have you traveled?"

"Well, Balmorra, obviously, since I met Lachris," he replied with a smile that quickly faded. "Then Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine, Alderaan, Taris, Quesh, Hoth, Belsavis, Voss, and Corellia." He ticked off each planet on his fingers as he named them. "Oh, and of course Dromund Kaas." Vort shivered. "Even Korriban. I didn't see much of it, but it made my skin crawl. Even Kaliyo didn't like it much."

"Sounds just like our lists," Tharan observed thoughtfully. "I'm surprised we didn't run into you before Voss."

"Where is Liyo, anyway?" Alte asked, very firmly keeping her mind away from her own brother.

Vort gestured vaguely towards the galaxy at large. "No clue. She took off once they finished debriefing her and I've only had a couple text messages from her since then."

With a wry smile, Alte said, "Sounds like her."

Vort nodded. "Yeah, I'm surprised she stuck with me as long as she did, but she had her reasons, I suppose."

"She usually does," Alte replied, shaking her head fondly. "I'll never be able to repay her for her help." She smiled at Mei, eyes soft.

Mei smiled, squeezing Alte's hand firmly. "Neither will I."

"Buying her drinks when your paths cross will probably be enough for her," Vort told them with an amused smile.

Laughing, Alte nodded. "Probably, or find her a shiny new gun."

"How do you know Kaliyo, Zu?" Tharan asked.

"She helped me get away from some Cartel thugs outside a casino," Alte explained. "We were lovers for a few months, but I think she got tired of not being able to get a rise out of me, so she took off and ended up with some sabacc player."

"That didn't bother you?" Nadia asked with a frown.

Alte shook her head. "Kaliyo told me upfront that her heart is never on offer. To be honest, I was hung up on Mei even then, so mine wasn't on offer, either."

Vort frowned slightly. "Kaliyo dragged me into helping her deal with some of her exes. One of them was a sabacc player on Nar Shaddaa. It might be the same guy. Compared to the others, he was a wimp. I'm surprised Kaliyo even gave him a second glance."

"She probably wanted someone she could wrap around her finger after me," Alte replied with a soft laugh.

Naulia snapped her fingers, as if she remembered something. "Oh, Tharan, Jina and I ran into someone _you_ might know: my little brother, Novlan, came by our shop and he had his master with him: Master Yura. Does his name ring a bell?"

Tharan grinned, a fond look in his eyes. "He was Syo's Padawan when I was traveling with Syo and Master Fain."

Frowning thoughtfully, Alte asked, "Novlan's the one I scared a bit on Tython, isn't he?"

Naulia nodded with a grin. "Yeah, he mentioned that and I told him you were a little stressed at the time."

Mei rolled her eyes. "That's putting it mildly." She turned her attention to Tharan, tapping the tattoo on her right arm. "Master Yura found Naulia and Jina's shop through me, actually. He didn't introduce himself, though, just complimented me on my ink and I told him where I had it done."

"Sounds about right," Tharan said with a soft laugh. "He likes… shiny things. If something catches his attention, he tends to forget manners. Duras always said he took after his mother like that." He shook his head. "I never did get a straight answer out of him as to _who_ exactly Yura's mother was, though."

Naulia chuckled. "Perhaps he figured it wasn't his secret to tell? Jedi aren't _supposed_ to form attachments, after all." She winked at Mei and Alte.

Mei made a rude noise. "It all comes down to choice." She nudged Alte. "Apparently, Master Yura wishes to meet _you_."

"Me?" Alte asked, surprised. "Why me?"

"Well, Yura _is_ related to Duras and Laranna," Tharan pointed out.

"How do you know that?" Nadia asked curiously.

"I spent several months in close quarters with Duras and Yura," Tharan replied patiently. "Yura looks a lot like Duras and trained with him quite often when we were traveling together."

Mei nudged Alte again, "Remember? I said he reminded me of Duras, with the way he moved?"

Alte hummed thoughtfully.

"Speaking of training, how's yours going, Nadia?" Jina asked curiously.

"It's going well," Nadia replied. "When we leave the Fleet, we're going to Dantooine so I can spend some time with the younglings and younger padawans. Zu thinks it'll help with some of my… difficulties with my emotions."

"I can think of someone else who has trouble with their emotions." Vort glanced sidelong at Mei.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "What, are you implying that _I_ have trouble with my emotions? Perish the thought."

"Riiiight." Vort rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink. "Dantooine's mostly farms and ranches, right? WIth small villages?"

Kira nodded, looking at Vort curiously. "Yes, that about sums it up. Why do you ask?"

"After the last three years, I'd like to go somewhere without much tech or traffic," Vort admitted quietly. "Somewhere _away_ from the war and fighting."

"Well, about all Dantooine contributes is the food they produce," Kira told him with a confident smile. "Since the Uphrades is still recovering from Angral's attack, I'm sure you won't have trouble finding work on a farm or ranch."

Mei grinned and squeezed his arm. "And, if you find work near the Jedi Temple there, we'd get to see each other still."

Vort held up his hands. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let me take a look around before I decide if it's where I want to stay for the foreseeable future."

"I hope you do decide to stay on Dantooine," Nadia said quietly, smiling. "It'll be nice to have someone new to talk to, who isn't a Jedi."

"Are you saying I'm boring, Miss Nadia?" Tharan asked, grinning.

"Yes," Nadia answered, an impish light in her eyes. "I know all of your stories already. And Zenith's, and Qyzen's."

"What about Felix's?" Kira asked with a grin.

"His, too," Nadia answered, grinning back. "There's only so many times you can read the same holonovel or meditate."

"Are you saying _being a Jedi_ is boring?" Alte questioned with an overly stern face.

"Yes." Nadia kept right on grinning.

Snorting a laugh, Alte shook her head fondly. "No respect around here."

"That makes two of us," Mei wrapped her arm around Alte's shoulders and squeezed fondly, shooting a glance at Kira.

After a moment of trying to look innocent, Kira grinned. "I _do_ respect you, Mei. I just don't show it the same way I do for Master Kiwiiks."

Mei smiled and nodded in Kira's direction. "I know. Kind of hard to show deference to someone you knew as a kid, right?"

"Right!" Kira laughed. "Besides, I can't believe that you'd be happy with a quiet, dutiful Padawan who never argues with you."

Mei made a rude noise as she settled back in her chair. "No thanks! I'd like to train someone who has the spine to stand up to me and tell me when I'm being stupid."

"You? Be stupid? Never happen," Alte replied sarcastically, her lips twitching with a held-back grin.

Vort gave a snort. "It's not so much being stupid as jumping into things before thinking them through properly."

Mei pouted at the two of them. "I'm beginning to rethink my fondness for you two."

Laughing, Vort leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "You know I'm right."

"Yeah, yeah." Mei leaned into him with a happy sigh. _Stars, it's good to have him back!_

*

After he finished in the 'fresher on Alte's ship, Vort wasn't surprised to find someone waiting in the corridor. They'd all drunk plenty while they talked. He nodded to Zenith as he moved aside for the Twi'lek to use the 'fresher. "All yours, Zenith."

"You were on Balmorra," Zenith said, eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest.

Vort nodded, raising his eyebrows. "Yes, I believe we discussed it already."

"You're the one Sanju brought to Chemish," Zenith continued.

That caught Vort by surprise, but then, most of his focus had been on Chemish. He hadn't noticed many of the others in her group. Slowly, he nodded. "You were part of her cell, then?"

Zenith didn't answer his question. "She sent you to free Gray Star from the Republic prison," he said in the same flat tone, face and voice not giving away his emotions.

"And you obviously already know what happened to Gray Star." Vort resisted the urge to fold his arms across his chest. He'd done it to keep himself alive.

Red eyes blazing bright with anger and pain and grief against the dark markings around his eyes, Zenith hauled back and landed a furious punch on Vort's jaw. "Yes," he said as Vort dropped to his knees.

Vort rubbed his jaw, glaring up at Zenith. "I didn't have a _choice_. If I didn't do my damn job, the Imps would've killed me, or worse."

Zenith glared right back at Vort. "Losing him set us back _months_ in our progress towards liberation."

"You can't know that, Zenith," Alte said quietly as she approached, frowning. "You know the Empire nearly as well as he does. What would you have done in his position? Capture Gray Star? We all know that would be a fate worse than death."

Looking away, Zenith said nothing.

Vort got to his feet, keeping a wary eye on Zenith. "I won't apologize for killing him. It was him or me and I rather _like_ staying alive."

"You've held onto your anger over Gray Star's death for too long, Zenith." Alte stretched her hand out almost absently and healed the rapidly forming bruise on Vort's jaw.

Glancing from Alte to Vort, Zenith nodded once, sharply. "Sorry," he said to Vort before turning and walking away.

Vort sighed and gently pushed Alte's hand away. "Leave it, please. I need the reminder that my decisions affected others just as much as they did me."

Alte smiled sheepishly. "Habit," she explained. "At least have Doc or Tharan take a look? Zenith has a mean right hook."

"I will. Thank you for the offer." He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I thought only of myself and my goal to get _out_ for so long that it's strange to think of what I did from another angle."

Alte's smile turned a little sad. "It's no less than I would have done for my own brother." She sighed quietly. "Things have been going so fast the last few years, I don't think any of us have really stopped to think about the consequences."

"You're right about that." Vort nodded, making a face. "The rare times I _did_ stop to think, I either ended up blind drunk or so sad that I moped around in my quarters for a couple days."

She patted his arm sympathetically. "I can't begin to imagine what you've been through since the Empire took you, but if you ever need to talk, Mei and I are more than willing to listen." She took a deep breath before continuing, "And I hope some day soon you'll have someone else who can empathize. My own brother wants to leave the Empire, but when I last saw him, he said it was too dangerous to even have contact with me."

Vort stared at her in surprise for a moment. "I-- Yes, I'll help in whatever way I can when he can finally get out." He reached out and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm here if you need a shoulder to cry on, besides Mei's."

Alte hugged him gratefully. "Thanks." She stepped back after a moment then asked hesitantly, "I know the Empire's a big place, but… I don't suppose you heard anything about a Sith named Te'ru or anything close to that?"

Vort took a moment to think back over his assignments. "You know, I may have run into your brother, on Dromund Kaas. I literally bumped into a Sith who looked a lot like you while I was in the Dark Temple trying to stop a terrorist attack." He made a face at that. "I don't know what he was doing, but it was significant because he didn't get pissy with me over bumping into him. His companion looked ready to rip me a new one, though."

Sighing quietly, Alte managed a small smile. "That sounds a lot like what Zenith and Doc told me. Doc had an encounter with him on Balmorra; he was only knocking people out when he could and he was traveling with a rather fearsome looking companion."

"Yeah, his 'friend' looked like he'd gladly eat me, but the Sith told him to stand down." Vort breathed a sigh of relief. "I looked up the species later and realized it was a Dashade. I doubt I'd have survived if it'd come down to a fight."

Alte hummed thoughtfully. "I've never heard of those before, I'll have to look them up." She frowned and shook her head. "Later. For now, you need to go see one of our medics about your jaw."

"Yes, ma'am." Vort grinned and hesitated a moment before hugging her. "Thanks, Zu."

Smiling, Alte hugged him back. "You're welcome, Vort."

Giving her a last squeeze, he headed off to the medbay to have his jaw checked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vort's back in Mei's life and she couldn't be happier.


	2. Te'rund and Alte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Te'rund's turn to meet the family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umbra here! There will probably be a bit of a break between this chapter and Mei and Alte doing SoR. I was a dummy and forgot to cap the conversations. I have a character I can use to get those conversations, but he's on The Javelin quest and running out of rested state, so it might be a while.

Thanks to the infrared vision in his implants, Vort didn't need to turn on the lights as he carefully navigated his way through Mei's ship to the galley for a late night snack. At a request from Mei, he, Kira, Felix, and, surprisingly, Qyzen, were flying Mei's ship to Tython for her. She didn't say why, but he guessed it had to do with why she and Alte had taken off without a warning. Personally, he wondered if it had anything to with Alte's brother. _Though, I'm not sure why she's so certain he'll defect from the Empire. Did he **tell** her, or is it a feeling she had?_

 

Vort was so deep in thought that he didn't notice someone coming up behind him until they bumped into him. Acting on instinct, he turned and caught them. "Are you alright?"

 

Nadia bit back a squeak of surprise as she bumped into something warm and firm in the dark. Something _very_ warm and _very_ firm. _Stars,_ she thought. _Am I ever **not** going to embarrass myself around him?_ "I'm fine. I didn't think anyone else would be up at this hour. Lights on at thirty percent." The lights came on dimly at her command and she almost wished they were a bit brighter. Vort was clad only in a pair of sweatpants, his broad, muscled chest on display.

 

He smiled gently, making sure she was steady on her feet before releasing her arms. "It's all right. I didn't turn on the lights because I don't need them." Vort tapped his implants with one finger. "One of the additional functions these provide me."

 

She couldn't help smiling back, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You'd think I'd be used to people wandering around in the dark aboard the ships after traveling with Zu."

 

"Few people can see in the dark," Vort reminded her, reaching up to fidget with the hoop earring in his left ear. Jina had put it in for him before they'd left for Dantooine. "I forgive you for bumping into me." He looked at her hopefully. "I was about to make a snack for myself. Care to join me?"

 

"Sure," she agreed and eased around him to led the way into the galley. "You got the lecture about putting everything back where you found it, right?"

 

Vort nodded, following her to the galley. "Yup, on the way to Dantooine. I didn't even realize Zu was blind until Mei gave me the lecture."

 

Nadia laughed softly, nodding, as she poked through the 'fridge. "It took me a bit to figure it out, too. We met when she saved the Rift Alliance from a Sith on our ship. The way she moves and fights, you'd never be able to tell if you didn't know."

 

"Exactly." Vort nodded again, poking through the cupboards. "Mei told me she has removable optical implants, for when her Force sight goes 'wonky'?"

 

"Before I met her, she shielded several Jedi from a plague of the mind," Nadia explained as she pulled out the ingredients for a sandwich. "It drew on her connection to the Force so eventually her Force sight was gone completely. She was wearing them the day we met in Momentous Markings."

 

Noticing what Nadia pulled out of the 'fridge, Vort found the bread and set it next to the sandwich fixings. "Oh, those were her optical implants? I didn't realize that's what they were. I guess if I want to show her my tattoo, I'd better tell her to put her implants on?"

 

"Thanks." Giggling, she nodded, grabbing a couple pieces of bread. "Might be a good idea, yeah. It's why she gets piercings instead of tattoos."

 

Vort toyed with his earring again. "Makes sense." He leaned one hip against the counter as he studied Nadia. Quietly, he observed, "You have freckles. I couldn't tell through your facepaint."

 

"Huh?" Nadia glanced up with a frown then blushed to the roots of her hair. "Oh, _stars_. I completely forgot." She ducked her head so her hair fell forward to hide her bare face.

 

Frowning, he tilted his head curiously. "Did I say something wrong? Surely you're not supposed to keep your face painted _all_ the time?"

 

"It's, um, not exactly proper to be seen by someone outside your family without your facepaint," she explained shyly as she spread her favorite condiments on her bread. "Some people don't even let their family see them without it, but that's not very good for the skin."

 

Vort nodded, straightening so he couldn't see her face anymore. "Well, Zu's your Master and she's with Mei, who's my sister, so we're sort of family." He shrugged, taking two slices of bread and putting them in the toaster. "It's up to you, though I must say that you look pretty with or without your facepaint."

 

The blush that had just started subsiding heated her cheeks again. "Thanks," she said quietly, smiling a pleased little smile at her sandwich. "That's kind of a roundabout way of thinking about it. I don't think even Mei and Zu have seen me without my facepaint."

 

"It's your decision, obviously." Vort glanced at Nadia out of the corner of his eye. The infrared setting on his implants told him she was blushing. Smiling to himself, he asked, "You said before that each design has special meaning. What does _yours_ mean?"

 

Nadia bit her lip before answering, "It means 'to see faithfully.' I thought about changing to something else, after we learned about Blaesus, one of the Rift Alliance members, being a Child of the Emperor. How can I see faithfully if I couldn't tell he was an enemy? But once it really sunk in that he fooled even Zu, I didn't feel so bad."

 

"He must have hid that part of himself real well if Zu didn't notice." The toaster popped and Vort plucked the toast from it, putting them on the plate he'd found in the cupboard. Blowing on his fingers, he added, "We can't expect to see and know everything. Even _I've_ missed things, despite the fact that my implants ensure my brain works faster than usual."

 

"To be honest, he was kind of annoying," Nadia confessed, glancing up at him with a sheepish smile. "Before we found out he was a Child of the Emperor, I wondered how he even got chosen for the position in the Rift Alliance. He was scared of practically everything."

 

His lips twitching in a smile of his own, Vort shook his head slightly. "That's one way to throw suspicion off." He began spreading condiments on the toast now that it'd cooled a little. "I'd have just tried not to draw attention to myself at all." Realizing what he'd said, he set the knife down on the counter and squeezed the bridge of his nose. _I'm not a spook anymore. I need to stop thinking like one._

 

Nadia glanced over and almost reached out. "Are you okay?"

 

After a few measured breaths, Vort nodded, glancing at her with a wry smile. "Yeah. It's hard to stop thinking like a spook when you've been doing it for half your life."

 

Seeing his smile, she reached out and squeezed his arm gently with a smile of her own. "I may not know what you're going through, but I'm here if you ever need someone to listen."

 

"Thanks." He covered her hand with his, grateful. "Mostly, I hate how deception has become so ingrained for me. Mom and Dad always told Mei and I to be honest and fair with others, especially each other."

 

Nadia bit her lip, uncertain what advice to offer. "My father used to tell me, 'if you make a mistake, don't make it bigger by letting it pass. Own up to it and apologize.'"

 

"That's good advice." Vort turned back to making his sandwich, trying not to think about Nadia biting her lip. _She's training to be a Jedi, Vort. She's off limits, idiot._ "He sounds like a very wise man."

 

Finally remembering to put the meat on her sandwich, Nadia set about arranging the slices just right to distract herself as she murmured, "He was."

 

He stared at her for a moment, the meaning of her words sinking in. _Slag._ "I hope I haven't reminded you of something unpleasant."

 

She shook her head and managed a smile, looking up at him. "It just hits me sometimes. For so long, my father was all I had in the galaxy. My mother died when I was young, so I don't really remember her. I mean, I have Mei, Zu, Kira, Felix, Zenith… everybody on their crews, really. But no one can really replace your blood family."

 

"I know what you mean," Vort answered quietly, staring down at his half-made sandwich. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore. "I was so young when my parents died and Mei was even younger. We only had each other, and then--" He cut himself off, wiping his eyes impatiently.

 

Impulsively, Nadia turned and wrapped her arms around his waist in a sideways hug. "You got Mei back, at least," she observed quietly.

 

After a moment of surprise, Vort carefully wrapped his arm around Nadia, smiling faintly. He wasn't used to getting random hugs. "Yeah, I did, and I'm so very glad for that."

 

 _Oh **stars** ,_ she thought, trying and failing to fight back another blush. _He's so warm._ She finally pulled back and turned to the fridge. "Want anything to drink? I think Zu has some cold brew tea in here."

 

Vort shook his head, wiping his eyes again. "No tea. I-- It's the preferred drink in the Empire." He scooped up his toast and tossed it in the recycler. "Is there any water?"

 

"Yeah," Nadia confirmed, grabbing a pitcher in each hand and setting them on the counter next to the 'fridge. Opening the cupboard above the counter, she gestured at the different glasses. "How big a glass would you like?"

 

Reaching over her head, Vort grabbed the glass he wanted and handed it to her. "This one is fine, thank you."

 

Nadia made a show of frowning over her shoulder at him. "Too many tall people," she grumbled good-naturedly as she poured the water for him.

 

"That means more people to reach up and get stuff for you." Vort grinned, moving away to resist the temptation to kiss the top of her head. "I once caught Mei balancing on a stack of books on top of two chairs just to get at the cookie jar."

 

"I am more than capable of getting things for myself, thank _you_ ," she huffed without rancor. "And if I can't reach it from the floor, that's what the Force is for." She very carefully didn't mention that Mei and Zu had had to replace half a dozen various items around the ship because she accidentally exploded them with the Force. After the sixth one, Zu suggested practicing with rocks.

 

"What if something happens to your connection with the Force?" Vort raised his eyebrows as he sipped his water. "Or you're tired so your control isn't perfect and you risk dropping whatever you're trying to get. Then it's good to have a tall friend along."

 

Huffing dramatically, Nadia hid her smile by pouring her own drink. "Be logical, why don't you?" she said teasingly.

 

"Someone has to be and since it's just the two of us, that task apparently falls to me," he grinned, remembering the way Mei would tease Alte about being logical.

 

Nadia giggled as she opened the fridge and put the pitchers away. Picking up her glass, she turned back to where her sandwich waited, frowning for a moment to see Vort's toast gone before shrugging it off and picking up her plate. "How do you like working on the ranch?" she asked, gesturing for him to precede her to the table at the back of the galley.

 

He walked to the table and sat down, setting his water in front of him. "It's been good. Harder work than I expected, but worth it in the end. Most days, I barely manage to get a shower in before I fall into bed and go to sleep."

 

Setting her plate and glass down, Nadia slid onto the seat across from him and very carefully did _not_ think about Vort in a shower, with water running down his… _No, Nadia_. "I know what you mean. Before Zu started training me, I was mostly using the Force on instinct, when my emotions were high. Once I started learning, though, it was like building up a muscle. Exhausting, but rewarding."

 

"Why didn't you have training before Zu?" Vort asked curiously, trying not to stare at her bare face, but she was so pretty. He wanted to count her freckles. "Aren't there other Force sensitives on your planet?"

 

"Not that I know of," Nadia said, pausing for a moment to take a sip of her tea. "Father and I looked everywhere on Sarkhai, but I'm the only one." She took a bite of her sandwich, sighing happily at just the right ratio of condiments to meat.

 

"It must have been difficult and scary to think that you were the only one in the galaxy with your abilities," Vort mused, taking a sip of his water. "At least Mei had heard of Jedi and Sith before."

 

"It was lonely," she admitted quietly. "I had private tutors when I was growing up, because Papa thought it would be too dangerous for me to learn at a school with other children." She laughed quietly, turning her glass around with one hand absently. "I was so excited when we joined the Republic and I learned about Jedi. Then to actually meet not just one, but _three_. Learning I wasn't the only one with these abilities was like a dream come true. That I wasn't alone."

 

Vort nodded, reaching across the table to squeeze her arm gently. "You're lucky it was the Republic and not the Empire. If there'd been even a _hint_ at your abilities, the Sith would have taken you away from your father and--" he stopped and swallowed, not sure if she'd have been trained or locked up to be studied. Clearing his throat, he finished quietly, "The Republic's not perfect, but certainly better than the Empire."

 

Just the thought of the Empire taking her away from her father made her want to go out and find any Sith nearby and _hurt_ them. Feeling her glass starting to vibrate under her fingertips, Nadia took a deep breath. "They wanted to, but not to train me," she said tightly. "The Sith that attacked our ship said I would've been a good trophy for his Master. It's part of why Zu took me to Dantooine. Since I wasn't trained from childhood and because of everything that's happened, I have a hard time controlling my emotions around Sith."

 

He squeezed her arm again, his voice determined, "As long as I'm around, I'll make sure they _never_ get the chance to take you away from the people you care about." Vort smiled crookedly. "I've no doubt you can defend yourself, but I'll watch your back for you."

 

She smiled back, grateful, and covered his hand with her own. "Thank you."

 

"You're welcome." Her acceptance of his offer reassured him. He wasn't sure why he was so protective of Nadia, but he wasn't going to question it. Not yet.

 

Letting go of Vort's hand, Nadia took a big bite of her sandwich so she wouldn't be tempted to say anything else and probably embarrass herself.

 

Vort reluctantly drew his hand back and took a sip of his water, content to quietly enjoy Nadia's company. _Don't read anything into it, Vort. She's training to be a Jedi, remember?_

 

 _You're already having trouble with emotions, idiot_ , she thought to herself. _You don't need to add a potential relationship on top of that._

 

*

 

Felix couldn't help smiling at how Kira and Nadia both visibly relaxed as soon as they set foot on Tython. Even Vort's shoulders dropped an inch or two, but Felix was reasonably sure it was the sight of Mei healthy and smiling rather than how the planet felt.

 

"Hi, everyone!" Mei waved, just before Vort scooped her into a tight hug. "Oof! Good to see you, too, you big lug."

 

Vort held Mei for a long moment, pressing his face into her hair. Finally, he whispered, "Please don't do that again. I was so worried when Kira and Nadia told me they couldn't find you."

 

Blinking back tears at his admission, she patted his shoulders. "I'll try not to, Vort. This came up rather suddenly, though."

 

"Some sort of message would have been appreciated," he told her, reluctantly releasing her and stepping back.

 

"Yeah, the younglings were very disappointed that they didn't get their lessons with you," Kira added with a grin and a wink, hugging Mei.

 

Returning the hug, Mei told her, "I'll make it up to them when we go back."

 

"You better." Kira grinned, releasing her so she could hug Alte.

 

"It was mainly my fault," Alte said with an irrepressible smile, hugging Kira. "I was excited and impatient and we didn't even think about it until we came out of hyperspace above Tython and your holos came through."

 

"What was it?" Nadia asked, stepping in for her own hug from Alte.

 

Alte bit her lip, grinning. "It's easier to just show you. Come on." She gave Felix and Vort quick hugs before leading the way into the Temple.

 

Kira followed along behind Alte, curious as to what had made Alte so happy. _She's radiating happiness like a beacon. Normally, I'd expect it of Mei or Nadia, but not Zu!_

 

Vort fell into step on Mei's other side, amused by Alte's obvious happiness. _I wonder if it has to do with her brother? I know she hoped to see him again._

 

Mei glanced over her shoulder at the others, grinning at their obvious curiosity. She glanced at Alte, sending her a thought: _They're all curious. It's not like you to be this **happy**._

 

Alte glanced back at Mei, still grinning. _I can't help it. He's **home**._ She led them down the ramp to a set of rooms near Yuon's. The door slid open as they approached, revealing Ashara on the other side. "Up for some company?" Alte asked.

 

"Come on in," Ashara replied, stepping aside so they could all troop in.

 

Nadia clapped her hands over her mouth to hold back an excited laugh when she recognized the man sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed.

 

"Everyone, this is my brother, Te'rund," Alte introduced proudly.

 

Te'rund opened his eyes and smiled at Alte's friends. "Hello."

 

"This is Kira, Vort'ell, Felix, Qyzen, and Nadia," Alte said, pointing to each person in turn.

 

Kira smiled when she recognized the man seated on the floor. Even with his eyes closed, he resembled Alte too much to be anyone except her brother. She gave a small wave when Alte said her name. "It's good to meet you, Te'rund. I know Zu's been worried about you."

 

Vort couldn't stop a crooked smile when he saw Te'rund. He remembered him clearly from the Dark Temple. "It's a pleasure to meet you under better circumstances, Te'rund." He barely remembered to use his name instead of 'my lord'. Clearly, Te'rund wanted to put that behind him.

 

Tilting his head, Te'rund regarded Vort for a moment. "Ah. Yes, the Dark Temple. We'll have to trade stories, sometime."

 

Felix gave a short wave. "Welcome to Tython."

 

"You're safe now?" Nadia couldn't help asking.

 

Te'rund nodded with a smile. "I'm safe. Unless I run into my former crew that didn't come with me."

 

"They _did_ see you take on a Dashade and live, my l--Te'rund," Talos pointed out from where he'd come in from a side room.

 

Te'rund's smile turned wry. "Good point. This is my friend, Talos Drellik."

 

"Hello!" Talos said with a cheerful wave.

 

Ashara coughed delicately. "And I'm Ashara Zavros."

 

 _"Is good you have come,"_ Qyzen said. _"Herald was worried."_

 

"Herald?" Talos asked, frowning.

 

Alte raised her hand. "That would be me. The full title is Herald of the Scorekeeper. It's a long story."

 

"I'd love to hear it," Talos said eagerly.

 

"Some other time, Talos," Te'rund interrupted with a fond smile. "I remember you, Qyzen. You were on Quesh." Standing, Te'rund walked over and bowed to Qyzen. They were nearly eye-to-eye. "Thank you for keeping her safe."

 

Qyzen returned the bow. _"Is honor to guard Herald."_

 

"I imagine it's a challenging job," Te'rund said with a teasing glance at Alte.

 

"So challenging that it takes five of us to do it," Kira volunteered with a laugh. She slid a sly glance towards Mei, "Though, that's mainly because Zu's watching Mei's back, so the rest of us watch hers."

 

Vort rolled his eyes. "Only because Mei has never learned to stop and think before charging into a potentially dangerous situation."

 

Mei huffed an annoyed sigh and folded her arms across her chest. "What, is it time to pick on _me_? I thought we were picking on Alte."

 

"Oh sure, foist it on me," Alte teased, rolling her eyes.

 

"Of course!" Mei grinned and poked Alte through the Force.

 

Twitching, Alte poked Mei back. Te'rund laughed, low and rusty, and Alte couldn't hold back her grin.

 

"Some things never change," Te'rund observed, still smiling. "You used to do that to me when we were children."

 

Alte's smile softened and she hugged Te'rund tight.

 

Nadia bit her lip, eyes burning. She'd seen Alte happy before, but nothing like this. She seemed… settled, like she never had before.

 

Vort noticed Nadia biting her lip and reached over to squeeze her hand comfortingly. "Mei's always been like this, too. I've missed her."

 

Glancing over at Vort, Te'rund nodded. "As soon as I felt her again on Nar Shaddaa, I knew I had to get out. I'm sorry it took me so long, Te'zu."

 

Alte pulled back, shaking her head. "You came, that's all that matters to me."

 

"The hardest thing I ever had to do was walk away from you on Quesh and Voss," Te'rund said quietly.

 

Smiling sadly, Alte replied, "Letting you walk away wasn't easy, either."

 

"But you're here now," Felix said, smiling at Alte and Te'rund. "That's what matters."

 

"Exactly." Kira nodded firmly, remembering the difficulties she'd faced. "You had no reason to try to get out before."

 

"I had no chance before," Te'rund replied quietly. "My family were slaves. After our master defected, I was given to Darth Jadus. When he found out about my Force abilities he sent me to Korriban where I garnered the attention of the lord who would become my Master. After she… died, another darth took it upon himself to see to my own death."

 

"Obviously, he failed, since you're here." Kira stepped forward a little hesitantly, wanting to hug Te'rund, but not sure if he'd welcome it.

 

The blood drained from Vort's face when Te'rund mentioned Jadus and he bowed his head, wrestling with his regret and revulsion over Eradication Day. It'd been for a good cause, but he could never forget all the innocent deaths he'd caused with a single push of a button.

 

Te'rund stepped back unconsciously even as he laughed wryly. "He tried his best and nearly succeeded a couple times."

 

Nadia held back a frown as she watched Vort's reaction, curious and concerned.

 

Vort noticed Nadia's concern and managed a small smile for her, squeezing her hand to assure her that he'd be all right.

 

Alte squeezed Te'rund's hand gently. "I'm glad he failed."

 

"Me, too," Ashara agreed softly, hazel eyes soft with affection.

 

Kira raised her eyebrow at Ashara's agreement, even as she stepped back to stand beside Felix once more. "It's safe to say we're _all_ glad he failed to kill you."

 

Felix took Kira's hand and squeezed gently.

 

Te'rund grinned. "Stars, where are my manners. Come sit down." He gestured towards the back of the room, where a long couch sat with a loveseat at either end. "There should be enough seats, I think, if you all don't mind getting a little cozy."

 

Ashara took his hand and guided him over to one of the loveseats, nudging him into the seat closest to the couch. Alte followed, settling on the end of the couch closest to Te'rund.

 

Nadia elected to sit on the other loveseat while Qyzen leaned against the wall next to her.

 

Mei, naturally, sat next to Alte. Kira followed and sat next to Mei, tugging on Felix's hand so he'd sit beside her. That left Vort to sit next to Nadia. He'd wonder if there was some sort of conspiracy at work, but he knew the others were couples, which left him and Nadia to sit together. He didn't mind, honestly, but he had to sternly remind himself that she was a Jedi Padawan and likely not interested in a possible relationship.

 

Once everyone was settled, Talos sat on the arm of Te'rund and Ashara's loveseat. "I must say, I don't think I've seen so many Jedi in one room before," he observed, looking from Alte to Mei to Kira to Nadia. He blinked at Nadia. "Are those tattoos, Miss Nadia?"

 

Laughing softly, Nadia shook her head. "No, it's facepaint. It's part of the culture on my planet, Sarkhai."

 

"Oh yes! I heard about it," Talos said eagerly. "Recently joined the Republic. Supposedly lots of ruins." He sighed wistfully.

 

Nodding, Nadia explained, "The jungles on Sarkhai grow very quickly. Before we developed our shield technology to the point where we could hold it back, we ended up with a lot of overgrown buildings."

 

"It sounds like you're quite an archeologist, Mr. Drellik," Kira commented with a smile. "Have you had a chance to explore any of the ruins here on Tython?"

 

"Not yet," Talos replied sadly. "The ruins aren't safe, yet, for someone who isn't Force sensitive and none of the Masters in residence have had the time to give me a tour."

 

"Not even Master Yuon has had a chance?" Kira asked, surprised to hear that. "I'd expect she at least would be happy to show you around."

 

"She's had a visitor of her own since not long after we arrived," Talos said.

 

"One of her former Padawans is back on Tython," Alte explained. "They've been catching up."

 

Kira nodded, smiling fondly. "I see. That reminds me, I should visit Master Kiwiiks while I'm here."

 

Vort frowned a little. "Why visit her? I thought _Mei_ was your master?"

 

"I was, for a time," Mei confirmed with a nod. "Before that, though, Master Kiwiiks was Kira's master for several years."

 

"Master Kiwiiks was needed elsewhere, but Kira's talents were of better use to Mei on Coruscant, so the Council put her under Mei's supervision," Alte explained.

 

"Is it true that most of your missions are classified, Mei?" Ashara asked eagerly.

 

Making a face, Mei reluctantly nodded. "Yes. I couldn't even tell Alte, though I did in the end. She's the only person I've told, though."

 

"That must've been difficult," Te'rund said with a sympathetic frown. "Having to hide what you're doing from the person you trust the most."

 

"It was, but it helped to have Kira to confide in as well." Mei hugged Kira fondly.

 

Kira returned the hug with a grin. "I did my best to help."

 

"And you did." Mei squeezed Kira's arm firmly before releasing her.

 

Te'rund smiled and reached out to squeeze Alte's hand where it was resting on the arm of the couch. "You've done very well for yourself, little sister."

 

Smiling as well, Alte looked around at her friends. "I really did." She nodded to Ashara and Talos. "You did, too."

 

Te'rund dipped his head in acknowledgement. "They went a long way to keeping me sane the last year or so before I left."

 

Rubbing her hand across Te'rund's upper back, Ashara replied, "You kept us sane, too."

 

"I'll miss the Empire," Talos confessed. "But turning my back on you wasn't an option."

 

"Thank you," Alte said, smiling at Ashara and Talos. "For keeping him safe until he could come back to me."

 

"Always," Ashara and Talos assured her in unison.

 

After a moment of silence, Kira cleared her throat. "There's something you should know about me." She grasped Felix's hand tight in hers. "I was born in the Empire, too. My parents were Sith. I was meant to be a Child of the Emperor, but I decided I didn't want that and left when I was about eight. I ended up on Nar Shaddaa, which is where I fell in with Mei and Zu. When I was 14, Master Kiwiiks found me and offered to train me in the Force. I agreed and didn't see Mei or Zu again until they came to Tython a few years ago to complete their final trials."

 

Felix rubbed his thumb over the top of Kira's hand comfortingly.

 

Ashara, Talos, and Te'rund blinked at her in surprise. "It takes a lot of strength to get away from the Empire," Te'rund said after a moment. "I imagine it takes even more to get away from the _Emperor's_ influence. Considering Mei and Te'zu's affection for you, I already knew you had to be an exceptional person. Knowing what you've been through, only furthers that opinion."

 

Mei bowed her head at the mention of the Emperor's influence, her hand tightening around Alte's. _I should see the mind healers again, but there's so much to **do**._

 

Kira shrugged, smiling wryly. "I wasn't _completely_ under the Emperor's influence. Not yet. I was determined to avoid it, though. That's why I left."

 

"Either way, it takes great fortitude to get away," Te'rund replied.

 

Vort chuckled at that. "He makes a good point, Kira."

 

"Fine." Kira huffed and leaned into Felix's shoulder.

 

Mei poked her friend. "One day, you'll learn to accept a compliment gracefully, Kira."

 

"Not today, Mei." Kira squirmed and poked Mei back.

 

Alte laughed softly and settled deeper into the couch. The only thing that could have made the day better was having Yuon with them, as well as Doc and Tharan.

 

Nadia sat up suddenly, eyes wide. "We forgot Teeseven on Dantooine."

 

Mei grimaced. "He's going to be very cross with us for leaving him behind. Twice."

 

Kira squeezed Mei's hand. "Maybe if we offer to fix that tread of his that's been wonky?"

 

"I don't think that's going to work," Felix said with a wry smile. "Maybe an oil bath?"

 

Mei shrugged. "Maybe both?"

 

Vort couldn't quite hide a smile. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that little astromech has you wrapped around his, um…"

 

Mei raised her eyebrows at him. "I get the idea, Vort. He's been with me since I was a Padawan. What do you expect?"

 

"Besides, the younglings adore him," Alte replied. "They tend to try and climb him and we left him on his own with them. It's going to take a lot to make it up to him."

 

"I'll think of something." Mei smiled sheepishly at the thought of the scolding she was in for when she got back to Dantooine.

 

*

 

Doc relaxed on the sofa in Tharan's office, sipping his second cup of caf and reading a medical journal. Since and Mei and Alte were teaching at the Jedi Temple on Dantooine, Tharan had decided to go to Nar Shaddaa to check on his office there. Doc had offered to tag along and Tharan had accepted. Though he'd quite enjoyed himself in the casinos, cantinas, and Tharan's bed, he missed running around after Mei and Alte, saving the galaxy and helping people. He'd just taken a sip of his caf when Holiday winked into view, "Oh, Doc. Oh, my."

 

She quickly looked away and Doc glanced down at himself as he swallowed his caf. Since it was generally just him and Tharan in the mornings, he hadn't bothered to put on a shirt as well as his sweatpants. _Should I apologize?_ Deciding against it, he said, "Good morning, Holiday. Is someone calling for Tharan?"

 

"Yes." Holiday cleared her throat, still not looking at him. "It's Master Mei's holocomm, but the signal is coming from Tython."

 

Doc sat straight up at that, cursing under his breath when the movement made his caf slosh over the edge of his mug and onto his bare chest. "I thought she was on Dantooine."

 

"That's why it's strange," Holiday glanced at him, and then away.

 

Setting his caf and datapad down, Doc stood up. "I'll go get Tharan."

 

"She's asking for you, too, Doc," Holiday told him as he mopped at his chest.

 

"Right, we'll be there in a minute." Doc headed into the bedroom where he could see Tharan still asleep under the covers. Walking over, he patted Tharan's bottom through them. "Up and at 'em, Tharan. You have a holocall."

 

"Unless someone's dying, they can wait until a more decent hour of the day," Tharan grumbled, pulling the pillow over his head.

 

"Not if that someone is Mei." Doc remorselessly tugged the pillow free and tossed it in the corner. He walked over and dug a shirt out of the clothes he'd left piled in another corner, putting it on.

 

Tharan half-heartedly swiped at the pillow. "Mission?" he asked, not opening his eyes.

 

"Dunno." Doc shrugged, combing his fingers through his hair. "Holiday said she's calling from Tython and asked for both of us."

 

Tharan's eyes popped open. "They're supposed to be on Dantooine."

 

Doc hid a grin. _I knew that'd wake him up._ "I know."

 

"Where the hell are my pants?" Tharan muttered to himself as he threw back the covers and sat up.

 

Having already found them and Tharan's shirt, Doc threw them both at him. "Right here."

 

"Thanks." Tharan flashed Doc a quick smile and got dressed before leading the way out to the holoterminal in his office. "Mei?" he asked once he was in position for it to transmit his image to her. "Something wrong? Why are you on Tython? I thought you were on Dantooine."

 

Mei laughed. "Nothing's wrong. We just needed to come to Tython for a bit and forgot to bring Teeseven with us. Would you and Doc mind stopping by Dantooine and getting him for me?"

 

"How could you forget Teeseven?" Doc asked, surprised. "He's been with you for ages."

 

Mei gave an embarrassed smile. "I'll explain when you two get here. Just don't forget Teeseven, otherwise we'll _all_ be on his shit list."

 

Tharan huffed a quiet laugh. "We'll get him, don't worry."

 

"Thanks, guys." Mei smiled brightly at them. "See you soon." Her image disappeared the next moment.

 

Tharan eyed Doc, wondering if he could convince the other man to go down and retrieve T7 by himself. Or perhaps have T7 get on the shuttle by himself. He hadn't set foot on a backwater planet voluntarily yet, he didn't plan on doing so now.

 

Doc noticed Tharan eyeing him and grinned, guessing the direction of his thoughts. "I am _not_ going to the Jedi Temple by myself, Tharan."

 

"Maybe they'll let him on the shuttle by himself," Tharan offered as he turned and headed back to the bedroom to pack.

 

"It's a possibility." Doc followed Tharan, sorting through his clothes to fold and pack them.

 

While Doc occupied himself with his clothes, Tharan grabbed a couple of prototypes he'd started while they were at the shop. Nothing too big. They'd fit in with his clothes, surely.

 

Doc whistled tunelessly as he finished folding and packing. Then he scooped up a change of clothes and ducked into the 'fresher to shower and dress. Before he closed the door, he told Tharan, "There's fresh caf in the kitchen, in case you need help waking up."

 

"Caf," Tharan moaned, leaving the prototypes in his suitcase and his clothes still scattered around the room in favor of getting caf.

 

Grinning, Doc closed the 'fresher door and turned on the shower. While the water heated, he took care of his ablutions. Once it was hot enough, he stepped under the spray, taking full hedonistic pleasure in it, since he'd be limited to sonic showers until they got to Tython.

 

Halfway to the kitchen, Tharan stopped mid-step, suddenly realizing he had a naked, wet Doc in his shower. But caf. He looked over his shoulder at the bedroom then back ahead to the kitchen. Shower, kitchen. Shower, kit-- _Ah, fuck it._ He turned around and headed back into the bedroom and on through into the bathroom. He quickly stripped and stepped into the shower behind Doc. "Mind some company?"

 

Pleased that he rated higher than caf, Doc turned and pulled Tharan close. "If it's _your_ company, I welcome it." Then he forestalled further conversation by kissing Tharan hungrily.

 

Tharan used Doc's distraction with the kiss to push him back against the wall and nudge a knee between Doc's thighs.

 

Doc moaned into the kiss and slid his hands down to Tharan's ass, pulling him even closer. _Mmm, yes, better than caf._

 

*

 

Tharan was casting a dark look over his shoulder at Doc as he stepped off the shuttle on Tython and missed the step down from the shuttle pad. He stumbled and probably would have fallen if he hadn't been caught by invisible hands and nudged back onto his feet. He looked around and spotted Alte watching him, her lips twitching. "Thanks," he said, abashed.

 

"No problem," Alte replied, eyes creasing with suppressed laughter. "You're usually more graceful than that, what's wrong?"

 

"Just…" He gestured over his shoulder at Doc. " _Him."_

 

Doc grinned as he and T7 followed Tharan off the shuttle. "Very graceful, Tharan. Are you planning to give the younglings dance lessons the next time you go to Dantooine?"

 

Tharan very nearly growled, but instead huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

Alte glanced between the two men for a moment, head tilted in confusion, before turning her attention to T7. "Hi, Teeseven. Sorry for forgetting you."

 

"T7 + Master Zu = good terms // T7 + Master Mei + Knight Kira = bad terms." The little astromech rocked from side to side, expressing his distress.

 

Doc patted T7's 'head' comfortingly. "I told you before, little guy, I'm sure Mei had a good reason for forgetting you."

 

The next beep from T7 sounded quite rude. "Master Mei = had better // T7 + Younglings = not a good mix."

 

"I'm sorry for that, Teeseven," Mei told him as she approached from inside the Jedi Temple. "Something came up that thoroughly distracted both me and Alte."

 

T7 gave a dismissive beep and spun away from her. She looked helplessly at Alte.

 

Covering her mouth to hide her smile, Alte suggested, "Why don't we head inside? There's someone I want you to meet."

 

"Tharan and younglings aren't a good mix, either," Tharan muttered grumpily as he led the way to the ramp up to the walkway.

 

"Is that why you're in such a bad mood?" Mei asked him, unable to stifle a smile.

 

Doc nodded and grinned as he fell in step with Mei. "Yep. Naturally, they hadn't seen us before, so they asked who we were. He told them he's a professor of exotechnology."

 

"Let me guess: they asked what that was," Mei glanced at Tharan's back, her eyes dancing with amusement.

 

"And asked and asked and _asked_ ," Tharan said, a horrified tone to his voice.

 

"Why didn't Teeseven meet you on the docking station?" Alte asked with a frown. "We called ahead and gave him clearance."

 

Doc shrugged, eyeing the little droid suspiciously. "I don't know. He wasn't on the station, so we had to go down and get him."

 

"T7 = left behind twice," he piped up, somehow making a series of beeps and whistles sound angry. "T7 = refuse to be left behind a third time."

 

Alte knelt down to look Teeseven in the 'eye'. "I promise, we won't forget you again. I'm sorry we forgot and that you probably ended up being a climbing apparatus for the younglings when we weren't there to rescue you."

 

"There's an oil bath with your name on it waiting for you once introductions are made," Mei added, resting her hand on top of his 'head'. "Kira's sorry, too."

 

T7 beeped once, and then fell silent. Doc gave a low whistle. "I wasn't sure a droid _could_ give someone a cold shoulder."

 

Tharan couldn't quite stifle his snort of laughter.

 

Mei sighed deeply. "To be fair, forgetting him on Dantooine, twice, was quite thoughtless of both me and Kira."

 

"This isn't getting to the explanation any faster," Alte pointed out, standing and beckoning for them to follow her again.

 

Tharan trotted to catch up with Alte. "So who is it we're meeting?"

 

"You'll find out when we get there," Alte said teasingly, grinning when Tharan groaned.

 

Doc glanced at Mei. "You're not going to tell, either, are you?"

 

"Nope." Mei shook her head with a cheerful smile.

 

Tharan groaned again. "You realize we're highly intelligent, incredibly _curious_ people, right?"

 

"You realize that's what makes it so fun, right?" Alte asked in return, sliding him a wide grin.

 

Blinking, Tharan regarded her for a moment. He'd seen her happy and playful before, but this… this was different.

 

Doc leaned over to Mei and whispered, "You'd know if Zu was replaced by a pod person, right?"

 

Mei didn't quite stifle a giggle at the surprise and curiosity she sensed from both Tharan and Doc in response to Alte's good mood. "Yes, Doc, I'd know and I can assure you that this _is_ the Alte you've known since Balmorra."

 

"T7 = never seen Master Zu like this," T7 interjected. "Master Zu = fine?"

 

"I am just fine, thank you for asking, Teeseven," Alte replied, turning to walk backward so she could smile at him.

 

Tharan stared at Alte, more than a little freaked out.

 

Mei nudged Tharan into continuing on. "Everything will be explained soon, I promise."

 

Tharan gave her a doubtful look, but continued walking.

 

Kira sensed Mei and Alte's approach with Doc, Tharan, and T7, and peered out of Te'rund's rooms to wave at them. "Hi, Doc, Tharan, Teeseven."

 

"Hi, Kira." Doc waved back, wondering if she knew what was going on. _What am I thinking? Of **course** she knows!_

 

T7 gave a short, sharp beep and didn't otherwise acknowledge Kira.

 

Alte paused long enough for T7 to draw abreast and reached down to lightly tap him on the 'head'. "You'll have to forgive them sometime," she admonished gently.

 

"T7 = knows // T7 + forgiveness = later." He beeped in reply.

 

Smiling, Alte tapped him on the 'head' again and headed into the room. "Teeseven, Tharan, Doc, this is my brother, Te'rund."

 

Doc stopped short when he saw Te'rund, recognizing him from Balmorra. There was no forgetting those eyes. No wonder Alte had been vaguely familiar to him from the first. "You knocked me out!"

 

"Possibly," Te'rund responded from his place on the couch, eyes crinkling with a repressed smile. "I've knocked out a lot of people."

 

Snorting derisively, Doc told him, "Balmorra. You were after an Imperial scientist, I think."

 

Te'rund nodded. "I remember."

 

"What did you need a scientist for?" Tharan asked, heading for the loveseat to his right.

 

"I needed to become a colicoid," Te'rund replied.

 

Doc didn't quite stifle a shudder at the thought of those big bugs. "Funny, you don't look like one of those nasty bugs to me."

 

Mei rubbed Doc's back comfortingly, understanding why he'd have such a visceral reaction to the mention of colicoids.

 

Kira made a face. "I'd just gotten the last of the killik smell out of my robes when we got to Balmorra and had to fight the colicoids."

 

Laughing softly, Te'rund answered, "I didn't need to _physically_ become one, I needed their resistance to the toxic waste in a particular vault. My former master was fascinated with archaeology, among other things, and needed an artifact from the vault."

 

Alte couldn't hold back a soft laugh. "I still find it hilarious that both of us ended up with masters obsessed with history."

 

"To be fair, Zash's reasons for wanting the artifact were a lot less wholesome than Master Yuon's would have been," Te'rund said with a wry smile.

 

"I'm guessing Te'rund is the reason you took off without warning?" Doc asked, glancing at Mei curiously.

 

She nodded, smiling sheepishly at T7. "We didn't mean to do it, we just… did."

 

"We've forgiven you, Mei," Vort told her quietly, "A certain someone else will need time."

 

T7 piped up, his 'head' swiveling, "Vort = correct // Oil bath = a start."

 

Te'rund laughed. "I see why you're so attached to him."

 

Alte smiled fondly at T7. "He's been with us for a while. I don't know how we forgot him, but we're more than willing to make it up to him."

 

"He's more personable than SCORPIO, certainly," Vort commented with a wry smile.

 

Mei patted T7's 'head'. "I can't imagine getting along without him."

 

T7 beeped quietly, but didn't try to move away from Mei.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, [Nadia looks like this without her facepaint](http://houseahngairn.tumblr.com/post/139126276150/nadia-grell-sans-facepaint-mostly-posting-this-as)


End file.
